GOP lawmaker: Texas election lawsuit represents ‘a dangerous violation of federalism’

Texas Rep. Chip Roy (R) on Thursday called his state’s Supreme Court election lawsuit seeking to undermine the results in several states that voted for President-elect Joe Biden a “dangerous violation of federalism.”

Roy made the comment in a Twitter thread explaining why he would not join his colleagues in filing an amicus brief in support of the suit.

“Respectfully, I will not join because I believe the case itself represents a dangerous violation of federalism & sets a precedent to have one state asking federal courts to police the voting procedures of other states,” he said.

…of federalism & sets a precedent to have one state asking federal courts to police the voting procedures of other states.

To be certain, the reckless adoption of massive mail-in ballots and changes to important signature matching (& other rules) in these and other… (2/5)

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 10, 2020

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is suing to prevent electors from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia from certifying Biden’s win, saying those states’ mail-in voting efforts amid the pandemic were unconstitutional. Eighteen other states — all of which voted against Biden — have joined Texas in its lawsuit.

President Trump, who since the election has refused to concede and repeatedly made unfounded claims of voter fraud, has filed a motion to intervene in the case, and has reportedly asked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to present his case if the Supreme Court decides to hear it.

Roy, who is Cruz’s former chief of staff, said that he supports legal challenges “where most likely to succeed,” but he cannot “support an effort that will almost certainly fail on grounds of standing and is inconsistent with my beliefs about protecting Texas sovereignty from the meddling of other states.

“Our remedy must be, from this day forward, to decline to allow the usurpation of our authority as people – through our states – to govern ourselves in all respects.”

…states increased the casting of illegal votes and undermine confidence in our elections. The American people are raising legitimate questions & they deserve answers. I strongly support the continued pursuit of litigation where most likely to succeed – such as Georgia… (3/5)

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 10, 2020

…to bring to light any illegal votes & encourage, if necessary, state legislatures to alter their electors accordingly.

But, I cannot support an effort that will almost certainly fail on grounds of standing and is inconsistent with my beliefs about protecting Texas… (4/5)

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 10, 2020

Roy is not the only Texas Republican to question the case. Sen. John Cornyn said on Wednesday that he struggled “to understand the legal theory” behind the suit. 

The president’s reelection campaign and its allies have filed multiple lawsuits attempting to void election results in a handful of swing states, most of which have been unsuccessful.